Lifeguard Lessons

August 2018

Written By:

Julie Flanagan

The Surf Doc’s new book teaches beach and water safety

Dr. Peter R. Chambers, known locally as the “Surf Doc,” is an open water lifeguard as well as the medical director with the North Myrtle Beach Ocean Rescue. When not on the water, Dr. Chambers is working as an emergency room physician. Dr. Chambers also recently found time in his jam-packed schedule to write a children’s book, with illustrations by Santy Gutierrez.

Lifeguard: Beach First Responder helps kids learn about what lifeguards do, from providing emergency medical care to helping animals in trouble to rescuing people from the ocean or other dangerous situations. Most importantly, lifeguards want you to be safe while still having fun, so here are a few tips for kids (and adults) when enjoying the water:

• Swim near a lifeguard
• Know how to swim
• Never swim alone
• If unsure of the water, wear a life jacket
• Take classes in water safety and first aid
• Have a water watcher in your group

For more tips and to help kids get acquainted with what a lifeguard really does, check out Lifeguard: Beach First Responder, which is available on Amazon and the Barnes & Noble website. Proceeds from the book will go to the North Myrtle Beach Lifeguard Foundation, a non-profit that helps promote beach safety and ocean rescue.

There’s a reason countless chart-topping pop songs have been written about summertime. It’s the time when love is in the air, families are on vacation, warm weather beckons and most of us feel a unique emotional connection to the land and sea.